One Night
by Pharaohs Queen
Summary: ONESHOT. Takes place after the events of Requiem's Awakening. READ THAT FIRST, OR YOU WILL NOT UNDERSTAND MOST OF THIS. It's a special night for Chaud and April, but just how special will it become? ChaudxOC rated T for fluff and aww... moments.


A/n: this takes place 5 years after the events in Requiem's Awakening (which you will find more about as I update more ) so now April and Chaud are both 23, and have been dating steadily for several years. Warning: major fluff (NO LEMON OR LIME) and many 'awww…' moments.

* * *

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening

OneShot

"One Night"

"Ok, how does that look?"

Nocturne stared around the now-sparkling apartment in disbelief.

"I had no idea the carpet was that color. How long did it take you to clean everything?"

April smiled at his astonishment. "I cleaned all day yesterday while you were at Net City with Megaman."

Nocturne shook his head. "Unbelievable. What's the occasion?"

"You have access to a calendar, figure it out."

He was silent for a few seconds. "Ohhh. Right. It's your date with Chaud tonight."

April clapped. "Very good! And what prize do we have for him today Joe?"

"Shut it." Nocturne said through clenched teeth

April sniggered, and then became serious. "He's coming at 7:30. I'm gonna start getting ready."

"That's in five and a half hours!"

"I know!" April rolled her eyes. "I've gotta run out and pick some stuff up."

" 'Stuff'? What kind of stuff?"

April ignored him, and picked up her PET. "I'm gonna jack you in. You can go back down to Net City, but if you could be back by 7:15 at the latest, that would be great. See ya!"

---

_5 hours later…_

"April? I'm back!"

April ran over to the computer in the corner of her room and twirled in front of the PET. "How do I look?"

Nocturne was impressed, to say the least. April was wearing a dress she had made herself. It had a medieval appearance, with long sleeves looped around her middle fingers and another chiffon bell-sleeve on top of that. The front of the dress was laced up, with ribbon laces ending in beaded tassels. It was long enough in the back to give it a slight train, but short enough in the front to show the small black shoes that laced up past her ankles. It was a very dark forest green color, accentuating her fire-red hair that she let hang in waves down her back. And her face…

"What happened to your eye April?" Nocturne looked shocked.

She grinned and lightly touched the metallic part of her face. "The plates have a protective covering. I just put make-up on over them. And I'm wearing one normal contact and one colored one to make them the same."

"You're wearing make-up?" Nocturne choked out. "You never cease to amaze me. Chaud'll be rendered speech-less, I can guarantee that."

April smiled widely. "Thanks, Nocturne. That means a lot to me." She glanced over at the clock on the wall. "Do you mind keeping an eye on the door for me? If Chaud comes, tell him to come up and unlock the door for him. I just need to put the finishing touches on my hair."

Nocturne nodded. "Will do."

"Thanks." April headed back into the bathroom.

After 15 minutes, with continued mutterings coming from the bathroom telling the hair spray and the bobby pins the stay in, a buzzer came from the door.

Nocturne opened the link to the hallway. It was Chaud, right on schedule.

"Hey Nocturne. Is April ready?"

"You bet. Just come on in and take a seat."

"Thanks." Chaud tried the door handle and found it was locked. He glanced over at Nocturne, still on the monitor. "Will you unlock the door please?"

The Navi looked troubled. "Chaud…will you look after April?"

He blinked in surprise. This was unexpected.

"Of course I will. What brought this on? Don't you trust me?"

Nocturne fidgeted. "I do trust you, but…since her grandfather's not...not with us anymore, I feel like...I have a responsibility for April. I know she's an adult now, but that still doesn't keep me from worrying about her..."

Chaud smiled understandingly. "Don't worry about a thing Nocturne. In fact, you're going to come and keep Protoman some company. So you'll still be there if April needs you." He chuckled at the face Nocturne made. "What, didn't she tell you?"

Nocturne was visibly relaxing, but still making a face. There was a click, and the door unlocked.

"Of course she didn't tell me. Go right on in. April will be with you in a sec."

Chaud entered the small apartment and took a look around, closing the door behind him. There were pictures everywhere, most involving the same four people. Dr. Cossack, an unmistakably younger April, and two people who could only be her parents. He noticed that all the pictures she was in with her parents, she was very young, no more than two or three. After that, the only adult ever in a picture was Dr. Cossack. _That's right..._ he thought. _She told me her parents died when she was young._

A small frame on the wall above the TV caught his attention. It was a more recent picture with April, Lan, Dr. Hikari and himself in their lab up at Scilab. On the screen behind them, Nocturne had his arms around Megaman and Protoman. They were all smiling hugely. He smiled again. _I remember that day... That's just like her to put up a picture of it…_

"Chaud?"

He turned around to see the speaker and gasped. He thought he was dreaming. April was standing there in her dress, with her bangs pinned back and a ring of white flowers in her hair, looking like the vision of loveliness. Chaud just stood there, staring. He couldn't move his eyes from her.

"A-April…you…you look…"

She smiled and completed the picture.

"Absolutely… breath-taking." Chaud managed to finish.

"Told you he'd be speech-less." Nocturne's voice came from a small black bag that April was clutching. They ignored him.

"You look nice too, Chaud."

He was wearing black slacks and jacket, which was hanging open to show a nice deep red silk button-down shirt.

He grinned and offered April his arm. "Shall we go, then?"

They walked down to the ground floor arm-in-arm, and into the parking lot.

"Look at the sunset, April." Said Chaud, pointing to the west. The sun lit up the sky with flaming tongues with reds, oranges, and pinks, with the purples and blues of the night sky hovering above.

"It's so beautiful…" she said.

Chaud opened the limo's door. "But not as much as you are."

April turned to face him and, for a moment, the sunset framed her face, leaving Chaud with a moment that he would never forget.

April leaned over to him, and gave him a short kiss on the cheek. "Thank you." She said while getting in the car. Chaud blushed, and climbed inside after her, as the chauffer shut the door behind him.

Inside the car, they sat close together.

"So what exactly is this you're taking me to?"

Chaud took her hand in his. "Just a little party. Don't worry," he added at the sight of her face. "It's not a company party. I know how much you dislike those. You'll enjoy it. And there's a dance floor."

April laughed and hugged him. "You always know exactly what I need to hear Chaud!"

He kissed the top of her head. "And that's something I take pride in."

---

Chaud was right; April had a blast. There was a huge dance floor in the middle of a gigantic ballroom that was lit with the low light of several chandeliers. Tables were scattered here and there, and a platform with stands and chairs stood against a wall.

During dinner, they sat with some of some of Chaud's collogues, and they had a great time talking about the finer points of programming large-scale projects. The dinner was several courses, including soup, meat, and a dessert; but April hardly touched anything, she was talking so much.

And the dancing started. The band played several different songs for each different type of ballroom dance. April was thrilled that Chaud knew all the steps, and that they never had an awkward moment while dancing.

After one particularly fast waltz, Chaud offered his arm to April again, and led her off the dance floor to the patio and gardens outside.

Here and there, couples were resting on benches, but the gardens, which included a miniature hedge maze, were almost deserted. They walked around the maze in silence, listening to the sounds of the breeze through the hedges and of the distant music. When they had walked around enough to find themselves in the large, empty, center of the maze, Chaud stopped and turned to April.

"I have a story I want to tell you April." He sat down on one of the benches near the hedge and pulled April down next to him, keeping her hands in his own. Chaud took a deep breath and started.

"Since that first day I saw you talking to your grandfather, when our eyes met for that first time, I was completely smitten with you. Your voice, your laughter, the sparkle in your eyes, your kind treatment of others, and the way you carried yourself with confidence…you were absolutely perfect…" he smiled and started running his fingers through a strand of hair that had found its way over her shoulder. "And the fact that you were stunningly beautiful helped." April blushed deeply, and Chaud continued.

"I thought that then, as a boy, and I still look at you the same way, almost 10 years later."

April's face went even redder, and she continued to stare deeply into his piercing blue eyes. Abruptly, he broke eye contact and stared up into the sky. April looked up too, and gasped.

Away from the city lights and the lights of the ballroom, millions of stars were able to shine and make their presence know to the world. The moon shone directly over head, a perfect circle.

April put a hand to her mouth. "Oh my…I've never seen this many stars before! Wow…it's so…magnificent."

She looked down to see what Chaud was thinking of all this, only to see that he had silently slipped off the bench onto one knee before her.

"April Cossack," he said, keeping eye contact while reaching into his pocket, "Perfect, beautiful, flawless April…" he held up a small palm-sized velvet box. "Will you make all my dreams come true, and consent to become my wife?" He opened the box to revel a ring with a beautifully cut and shined diamond resting on top.

April gasped again, and tears filled her eyes, but she wasn't looking at the ring. She was looking at Chaud, who was looking as serious and as hopeful as she had ever seen him.

"Oh Chaud!" she threw herself into his arms and the tears overflowed, failing to smear her waterproof make-up. He held her tightly as she cried, "Yes, yes, yes!"

They broke apart and Chaud wiped the tears off her face, then slipped the ring on her finger, beaming as brightly as the moon above. They spun around in the center of the maze, then finally stopped to join in a passionate, loving kiss.

They walked back to the ballroom, beaming and unable to take their eyes off each other. When they walked in, everyone exploded into loud applause. They kissed, and everyone cheered so loudly the chandeliers shook. The two waved and laughed as everyone came up to wish them congratulations. Even Nocturne danced for joy when April told him exactly what happened in the gardens.

---

It was well past one in the morning before April and Chaud were able to get in the limousine and go. They sat closer than they did on the way up, laughing and completely worn-out.

"You were right Chaud," April said as she laid her head on his shoulder. "I did enjoy that…immensely." She yawned hugely in the middle of her sentence. Chaud took her head off his shoulder, and placed it in his lap.

She adjusted the rest of herself on the seat, then looked up at Chaud. "Thanks. You don't mind if…" she yawned again. "If I go to sleep, do you?"

He leaned down and kissed her again. "Sweet dreams April."

She smiled sleepily and turned her head to face the front again. Chaud started stroking her hair slowly, and she was asleep within minutes. He smiled lovingly down at her, and then turned to the driver and said, "I'm not going to wake her up. Take us both home, and she can sleep in the room next to mine."

The driver looked in the rear-view mirror at them and smiled, saying: "Yes sir, Mr. Blaze."

---

When they finally got back, Chaud had almost nodded off several times, but managed to stay awake. He gathered April in his arms, making sure to grab the little black purse that held her PET, and then stepped into the house. He stopped only once to ask if April's room had been made ready, the walked on up two flights of stairs to her room.

A maid opened the door for him when he got there. She smiled at the loving way he gently laid her on the bed. Chaud turned to the maid.

"Put some pajamas on her please—don't worry, she won't wake up—then come and get me. If I'm not outside the door, I'll be in my room."

She nodded and curtsied, then shooed him out of the room.

Chaud went next door and took off his shoes, laid his jacket on the bed, and unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt and untucked it. He then went and stood outside April's room, staring up at the ceiling, a habit he had aquired from April, until the maid came out.

"Thank you." He whispered as he walked past her into the dimly lit room. April was lying peacefully on the huge bed, her hair all around her, and the flowers still pinned in. He sat down next to her and unpinned the flowers, placing them on the little bedside table next to the bed. At his touch, April's eyes opened a little.

"Chaud?" she whispered.

"Right here, April." He whispered back, leaning down and lightly kissing her forehead. "You can sleep as late as you want. Tomorrow's our day off."

She took his hand and placed it against her cheek. Chaud could feel the metal plates where skin was supposed to be. "I noticed." He whispered. "But I didn't want to bring it up. I'm sure you've heard enough about that to last a lifetime and a half."

She smiled. "Thank you. Thank you so much." She placed her hand on his cheek, pulling him closer. They shared another passionate kiss, and April let go, smiling at Chaud before closing her eyes and drifting off into sleep again.

He got up and turned the lights out before closing the door behind him.

Back in his own room, he let out a great whoop of joy.

Protoman smiled at his Net-Op's joy. "Congratulations, sir. But I suggest you get some sleep now. You will be seeing her first thing tomorrow."

Chaud yawned and stretched. "You're right Protoman. And thank you. Good night."

"Good night Chaud, sir."

---

A soft ray of light floated through the curtains and landed on April's face. She stirred, muttering, "It's too early…"

"April…"

She turned over. "Just five more minutes…"

"APRIL, WAKE UP!"

She shot up, eyes wide. "I'm up! I'm up!" She glared at her PET. "Why do you always have to be so loud?"

"Haven't you noticed where we are?"

April took her first good look around. She was lying in a giant four-poster bed with soft blue sheets. On the opposite side of the room were three large floor-to-ceiling windows with curtains that matched the bedclothes and window seats big enough for two people to lay side by side. To her left was a bedside desk with a PC and her PET resting on it. Beyond that was a slightly open door that led to a closet, and another door that was closed. On her right was another door that was open, showing it led into a huge bathroom, which meant the other door had to lead out to the hallway.

April swung her legs over the side of the bed and stretched.

"Nice PJ's." Nocturne commented.

April looked down at herself. They were silk pajamas, a dark purple, almost black—the same color as Nocturne. The Navi Mark that both she and Nocturne wore was stitched on the left side of the shirt. April jumped up off the bed and saw a full-length mirror on the other side of the desk. She twirled in front of it rubbing her fingers along the sleeves.

"Wow. These are nice. Wonder if I can keep them?"

A soft knock came at the door.

"Come in." April called.

A maid walked in, the same maid that tended to her last night--though April didn't know it--carrying April's dress on a hanger. She curtsied before

"We cleaned your dress, Ms. Cossack. Is there anything else you require?"

April took the dress from her and enveloped the maid in a hug. She froze, unused to April's openness.

"Thanks for doing that." April pulled back and looked at the maid at arm's length. "What's your name?"

The maid looked completely taken aback. "It's... M-Mine…" (a/n: pronounced Meen-ay). "I've been assigned to help you with anything you need."

April smiled. "You did a good job, thanks! I don't need anything right now—" her stomach let out a giant rumble. They both looked down at it. "On second thought…is there anything to eat around here?"

Mine giggled. "I can bring some breakfast up for you, if you wish."

April thought for a moment. "Will you bring it up in an hour and a half? I'm going to take a shower now."

Mine curtsied again. "As you wish, Ms. Cossack."

April smiled at her. "Thanks Mine. And you can call me April. There's no need for formalities when it's just the two of us!"

"Yes April." Mine curtsied a third time and walked out of the room.

_Nice girl._ April thought as she laid the dress on the bed and headed to the bathroom.

"Anything you need me to do April?" Nocturne asked.

April turned towards her Navi. "Actually…do you know where we are? I don't remember coming in here."

Nocturne laughed. " 'Course not. You were asleep. Did you happen to see that the logo on that maid's apron was the one for Blaze Corp.?" April blushed at her lack of taking in details. "Chaud carried you up here last night. You slept like a rock."

April sighed. "Ah…well… you enjoy yourself. It's our day off, remember?"

Nocturne smiled. "Call me if you need me." He said, and disappeared from the PET.

In the shower, April let the warm water wash over her for a while, and let the thoughts tumble around in her head. _I can't believe he finally asked me... this has been a long time in coming... I wonder if Chaud would mind a wedding in October?_

After a bit, she located a washcloth and began to vigorously rub the make-up off her face. Bit by bit, the stuff came off and the metal plates became visible again.

After washing herself, April stepped out of the shower and discovered that several towels, a brush, and a bathrobe--all the same purple-black her pj's were--had been laid out on the counter for her.

"Thanks Mine." She smiled, and proceeded to towel herself dry.

She put the bathrobe on and walked back into her room, her hair still damp, and the brush in her hand. She sat on the window-seat and stared out the window while tackling the knots in her waist-long hair.

Another knock came at the door.

"Come in." April said, still staring out the window. She heard the door click open, but she didn't turn around, expecting Mine with the breakfast tray. All of a sudden, the brush was taken out of her hand, and whomever it was continued to gently brush her hair.

"Hey!" April turned around and came face-to-face with Chaud. "Oh…!"

He laughed, and gave her a light kiss. "Good morning to you too, darling. Did you get a good night's rest?" April blushed and turned back towards the window. "Yeah…you could say I slept like a rock."

They sat in silence for a time, Chaud brushing April's hair, and April staring out the window to the mountains beyond. When he was done, he laid the brush on the seat next to him and wrapped his arms around April, and looked out the window with her.

"You know we have a lot of planning to do." Chaud whispered to April.

"I know." She said back. "How does October sound?"

Chaud looked puzzled. "October?"

April looked back at him and rapped him on the forehead with her knuckles. "For our wedding silly. I've always wanted an autumn wedding."

Chaud grabbed her hand. "Not an April wedding?" He asked, kissing her hand.

April shook her head. "Nah. Too cheesy."

They were still talking when Mine came in with the breakfast tray through the door Chaud had left ajar. She took one look at them, smiled, than left the tray on the desk and tiptoed out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind her.

As they talked, the smell from the breakfast tray reached April and her stomach grumbled. Chaud laughed.

"Oh be quiet." April said, jumping up and bringing the tray over. "Do you want some?"

"Go ahead. I already ate."

She gave him a piece of toast anyways.

"Eat it." She said through a mouthful of eggs. "It makes me feel bad to eat in front of someone who's not." He laughed and took a bite. "Better?" She nodded.

They continued eating, talking more about the wedding and what they would do after. When they were done, Chaud took the tray and placed it back on the desk. He then came and kneeled again in front of April, taking her hands as he did the night before.

"April…" he started, then hesitated. April pulled him up next to her on the window-seat. "What Chaud?"

He took a deep breath. "I love you April. More than you could ever know. But I want you to know this one thing. In order for us to be truly happy, we're going to have to work at it. Some day, I will take over my father's company…and we will hopefully have children of our own. I just want you to know that, no matter how busy we may be, I will always take time to be with you. I want to spend every moment I can with you, because you never know…" he stopped, and the image of his father silently crying at his mother's funeral flashed through his mind. "You never know if and when those moments will come to an end. April…"

She put a finger to his lips and fell on his chest, embracing him. They held each other close.

"I love you Chaud." She whispered to him. "And I will work with you and hold precious to each moment we have together." She looked him straight in the eyes. "No matter what happens, we will always be together."

His face broke into a big smile, and he pulled April the last few inches closer to himself, and they shared in their longest kiss yet.

When they finally pulled apart, April rested her head on Chaud's chest, with her back against the window. The sun shone brightly, making her hair shine and dry slowly.

"Chaud."

"Hm?"

She smiled and looked up at him. "I can hear your heart beating."

He started tracing the part of her face where the warm metal met her soft skin.

"And it will always be beating for you."

_fin_

* * *

I'm sorry. I had to put the cheesy French word at the end. It just seemed to fit.

I got the idea for this oneshot from a dream. No kiddin'.

And yes, I did get the name Mine from Fruits Basket, for all of those who noticed. And October is a very nice month indeed. It's the month I was born, just had to put it in!

Isn't Chaud sweet? Very OOC, I think, but sweet nonetheless. I want my engagement to be under the stars and a full moon too… T-T but I'm too young to think about that now. I still have to go through college!

Sorry this was so long…since it's a oneshot, I couldn't split it into two chapters. T-T it's 8 pages long… so long…sorry…

I know Protoman didn't get a big part in this and, I'M SORRY ERIN!!!! STOP THROWING VEGGIES AT ME!!!! (fear, the vegetables…)

Oh, and I have no idea what really happened to Chaud's mum, I just made up her death for this little thing. Come to think of it…I know nothing of his parents…interesting…

I SHALL DO RESEARCH!!!!

But not now, it's still summer.

………

mmm…toast…

Love me and review please.


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